Holiday Specials Moved

Holiday Specials Moved

Katie Beilstein
November 5, 2020

Bad news for anyone who was looking forward to watching the Charlie Brown holiday specials on national television this year.Airings of “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”, “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving”, and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” have been cancelled on public television as a result of a deal made with Wildbrain Studios, Peanuts Worldwide, and Lee Mendelson Film Productions. This deal moves all of these beloved TV specials over to Apple TV. The entire deal may come as a shock, considering how the Peanuts specials have been airing since 1965. However 2020 has not taken yet another thing away, and fans are still able to get their annual dose of Charlie Brown and friends’ holiday cynicism and classic morals free for a limited time. By simply downloading Apple TV on a smart device, you can watch the holiday specials within a time frame without making a subscription (or pledging to make one) to Apple TV. The time frames for each free holiday special have been listed below:
“It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown”Oct. 30 – Nov. 1
“A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving”Nov. 25 – Nov. 27
“A Charlie Brown Christmas”Dec. 11 – Dec. 13
For those who do have Apple TV subscriptions, the only available Peanuts special available to watch is “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown”. This is due to the fact that Apple TV is planning on releasing the next few specials as the year wears on. There is also talk of more Peanuts specials being made under Apple TV.Although fans, understandably, are not thrilled with the airing of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” being moved from broadcast television after over 50 years of tradition. In fact, an online petition has already been started on change.org titled, “Bring the Peanuts Specials Back to Broadcast TV!”. It has already gathered more than 100,000 signatures. While there is no certainty that the move from broadcast television will be revoked, there is still a means to watch the holiday specials for free and the tradition will live on in a new way.